Five Fabulous Fantasies

I read a little bit of everything ... post-apocalyptic dystopian, paranormal, science-fiction, historical, romance, and of course fantasy. I think fantasy can be one of the more challenging genres. So often taking place in completely different worlds, with unique names (both people and kingdoms) that can take a little effort to keep track of.  Most have a touch of magic and cannot be contained in a single book. The five featured here all have at least three books in their series, with a couple extending further. I really enjoyed all five of these fantasies and thought I'd finally get back to a book post here on the blog spotlighting these favorites ...

  

My most recent read was "The Hundredth Queen" series by Emily R King. This took an idea many other books have used... some people are gifted with elemental powers. Burner, Galer, Trembler and Aquifier. Controlling fire, wind, earth and water respectively.  Here in a fantasy setting, with kings and countries at war,  different gods worshiped and cruel customs, it completely captured my attention and kept me reading all the way through. I even BOUGHT the book 2. I never do that (it was just $1.99 for the Kindle download, but still, with so many books waiting in my Kindle cloud and library list it's hard for me to justify a purchase, especially when the series is part of the Kindle Unlimited plan, and available to borrow as part of the Prime Lending Library. I'd already borrowed my book for January, and figured I'd read book two and then borrow book 3 for my February pick, which is what I did, although I had to wait until mid-February as it was just being released then. There is a fourth book being released later in 2018). Looking at the first three books, the basic set-up was a bit reminiscent of the Hunger Games series. A girl forced to competition battle for her life in book 1 ... then another, larger competition/battle set-up in book 2, then a revolution, real-world war in book 3. My mom follows my GoodReads profile and grabbed the audio CDs for the first two books and enjoyed them as well. It was fun that we were reading the same books so close together. 

Of the five fantasies featured here, "Finnikin of the Rock", first book in "The Lumatere Chronicles) was the one I read least recently, back in 2013. But as I was thinking of a list of fantasy books to spotlight, this series was right at the top of my list. Honestly, I struggled a little starting this series ... it's a medieval setting, with different kingdoms, religious belief in "the goddess". The language is a little poetic, and the NAMES, so many different names, just hard to keep track and remember everything (the town of Sprie in Sarnak, by the Charyn border. Lumatere, Skuldenore, Belegonia, Yutlind, Lagrami, Sendecane, Sarnak).  But by about halfway through book 1, I was pretty involved in the story. Got emotional a few times, and highlighted several sections that really impacted me. Book 1 actually wraps up pretty well, and for that reason I didn't continue on immediately, but I did come back to finish up the series. Froi was introduced in book 1, and not a particularly likeable character. In fact, all the characters are very human, even the heroes definitely have their issues and are not always likable. This book DID end on a cliff-hanger, so I immediately went onto the final book (again, Quintana isn't exactly your typical heroine). While I read this series a while back, it is one that lingers in my memory. I like to look back at my highlights and remember what impacted me as I was reading. 

I read this trilogy about a year ago. This series focuses on twin sisters, Ashyn and Moria, the Keeper and the Seeker. They are each paired with a "bond beast" ... a huge hound and a wildcat and have specific duties in their village before embarking on a quest continuing through the three books. There is magic, evil, monsters and a little romance. I read the first book, then tried out the audio for book 2 ... it can be a little hard to make that change as I've already imagined "voices" in my head, and these didn't quite match. The narrator switched for the third book (I liked her a little better though). It was a series I was sad to see end. 

I remember rating the first book 3.5 stars, the second 4 stars, and 5 stars for the finish. I admit in my Goodreads review, that I was a little distracted while listening to the audiobook, and was just a little lost (as I mentioned above, with fantasy, and all the names/kingdoms, the magic, etc, it can be hard to comprehend even under the best of circumstances). I think as I understood the setting and situations, I was able to get more involved in the story as it went on until I was completely captivated there at the end. 

... and finally, no fantasy list is complete without mentioning the "Mistborn" series. I must admit, there is a second trilogy following this first set, and I haven't read it yet. These are long, complex books, and they really take a bit of a commitment!  Book one is actually titled "The Final Empire" and I don't know about you, but that threw me originally. I wasn't sure I was starting with the correct book, as the word "final" made me think it was the last book in the series. Nope. I am honestly amazed at the imagination of authors ... this world, and the magic therein, was unlike any I'd come across before. Different metals provide powers to specific individuals ingesting them. I discovered this series before I experimented with audio ... I'm just not sure if I could have caught everything by listening. I really needed to read, highlight, and sometimes re-read to fully experience and understand this complex world. It is a great series, and I need to get back to this world and read the follow up books too. I have read Sanderson's Steelheart series which, while wonderful as well, is SO different in tone that I can hardly believe it's the same author!

I write my reviews on GoodReads as much for myself as for others, although I hope they might help too. Here on the blog, again ... it's mainly for me in my mind that I like to link several series so I can look back and remember my reads. I have a few first books in new fantasy series, so hopefully I'll have another "fantastic fantasy" books blog post coming up again soon ...